Speaking after the race, Dave Smith, 25, said: 'The Germans and the Hungarians are always tough to beat and it was a great feeling to be the only non-European team in the final. To then go on and beat them all was even better.

'We wanted to put it out there. It wasn't so much about beating the other crews but about forcing them to beat us. Fortunately it paid off. It was great to win gold.'